Thomas ii



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. H. ROYCE. BIUYQLE SKIRT.

` Patented Dec. 24, 1895.

/NVENTR y@ ATTORNEYS.

L ...00in I D1 4Gb (No Model.)

WITNESS/5S.'

2 Sheets-Sheet. 2.

(No Model.)

T. H. ROYCE. BICYCLE SKIRT.

No. 552,004. Patented Deo.24,1895.

. ....7 /O WA..

WUNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

BICYCLE-SKIRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 552,004, dated December24, 1895.

Application tiled August 14, 1895.

fr) (1H :ciw/1b L muy concer/l.:

lie it known that l, THOMAS ll. ROYCE, ot lrooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improvedl'icyele-Skirt, of which the following is a full, clear and exactdescription.

The object of the invention is to provide a bicycle-skirt which will becompletelydivided and which, being s0 divided, will be highly convenientand desirable for one riding, and also to make the skirt in such a waythat. it will appear as an ordinary or whole skirt so that its dividedcharactercannotbedcteeted.

'lo this end the invention consists in certain peculiar features ofconst rnction, whereby the above and. other objects are attained, andthese will be fully describedhereinafter, and tinally embodied in theclaim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters et' reference indicatecorresptinding parts in all the figures.

Figure l represents a front' view of a skirt constructed after themanner of my invention, parts being shown in dotted lilies. Fig. 2 is arear view thereot. lrig. I3 is a perspective view, showing the folds otthe skirt eX- tcnded and parts thrown open to illustrate construction.Fig. l is a side elevation of the skirt. Fig. is also a side elevation,partially in section; and Fig. G is a plan view of the blank or patternfrom which both halves of the skirt are derived.

'l`he skirt is formed of two pieces of cloth, one of which is aduplicate of the other, and Fig. t5 is a plan view ot' one of theseparts showing the pattern. There it will bc seen that this comprises apiece having a truly arc-shaped outer edge cl and an are-shaped andeccentric inner edge which is broken by a gore or incision c, the edgesa and l being joined by radial edges e and j.

Reference to lfigs. I3 and t3 will show the manner ot assembling thesections of the skirt, and to do this the gorcs c of each section arefirst closed, forming the plaits r of Fig IS, while the adjacent upperportions of the edges j" are respectively provided with buttons andbuttonholesto form the placket g. Directly below the placket the edges fof cach piece are joined to each other for a short distance, after whichcach of the edges f is Serial No 559.274. tNo modehl folded toward theedges c of their respective pieces and sewcd to the lower portions ofthese edges, forming a seam which will be located at the points l inFig. il. lhe remainderot1 the edges c are nowjoined to each other,forming a seam beginning at the pointy l in Fig. 3 and extendingrearwardly and npwardly and terminating at the point il, while theeccentric and arc-shaped edges li of each piece form the waist of theskirt and are held by the band i.

Each division ofthe skirt is provided at its inner rear side withbuttons l, which are three foreach section and which have a st rap 4moperating therewith, the said st rap being ol a length equal to thedistance between two buttons, so that when the strap iseonnected withone of its buttonholes receiving each button the skirt will be formedwith folds which decrease the size ol` the skirt and serve to hold thesame in a more contracted form, which is highly desirable when thewearer is on the bicycle. \\'hen, however, the wearer dismounts, thestrap m may be disconnected from the three buttons and its ends engagedwith two adjacent buttons, which will permit the skirt to assunte itsnormal position and allow it to hangmore gracefully and exactly like anordinary skirt.

From the foregoing description and from the drawings it will be seenthat a skirt constructed as my invention has all ot the advantages of acompletely-divided skirt or bloomers, and vet is in appearance anordinary or whole skirt, and so complete is this deception that it willbe impossible to distinguish thc'character of the skirt.

Fig. l shows how the construction of the skirt completely conceals theplacket g, and also the plaits lt', while Fig. l shows the gracefulfolds at the rear, and Fig. l illustrates the side view of the skirt andshows the aboveexplained similarity to the whole or ordinary skirt.

ll'aving thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent As a new article of manufacture, a skirt formed oftwo duplicate. pieces, cach piece having a lower curved edge o and edgesc and f approximately radial to the curved edge u, each piece alsohaving an upper curved edge IOO eonlprising n gore c sind curved portionI1, the upper portions of the edges f forming the placket, theeonliguous portions of said edges fbeing,r joined. to earch other for a`short disizinee below the placket, the upper portions of the edges abeingr joined iioleaeh other, the two last named connections :formingthe @rotoli sind the lower portions of the edges e und f of euch pieeebeing respectively joined t0 each other and the upper curved edges of 1oezieh pieee forming the waist, substantially als described.

THOMAS ll'. ROYCE. iin esses:

SAML. ORPENHEUM, IC. SIIANAHAN.

